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Bedtime Favorites (Disney Pixar)
When I was a kid I always struggled with sleeping, and on the nights when I would have nightmares I would ask my mom to read me a story from this book to calm me down. I loved this book because it was different from the rest, it contained short stories and every night it was a different story with different characters. I remember my favorite one was the one about Monsters Inc, and hearing my mothers voice reading to me always calmed me down. -
Por si no te lo e dicho (Maria Fernanda Heredia)
This was a book that was always with me when I was a kid. In school, we used to have a reading corner, and in groups, we would be able to choose a book and sit on the rug to read. I vividly remember the smell of this book, like a new magazine, and the comfort I felt while sitting on the rug with my classmates. I don't know why I enjoyed this book so much, it was very simple, and short, but I think I found comfort in always choosing the same book and knowing how the story was going to go. -
El mejor enemigo del mundo (Maria Fernanda Heredia)
This was also given to me in my Spanish classes and I never was a fan of literature in Spanish, but this was another book that proved me wrong. This was a time in my childhood when reading was seen as lame and uncool, so I remember I used to fake like I hated reading and didn't know the answers to the questions about the book, and that is how I ended up stealing this book from the school's library because I didn't want anyone to know that I was reading it. Until now I have it home with me. -
Amigo se escribe con H (Maria Fernanda Heredia)
This book was one of the first books that I fully read. We were assigned this book in my spanish class and I remember I didn't like my teacher so didn't enjoy that class. One time we were popcorn reading in class and this is when I got hooked. This book was such a great coming of age story that got me engaged with the plot, and even though I hated my Spanish teacher and going to her class I actually enjoyed reading this book. -
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
This book changed how I saw literature. I had a great teacher who got me interested in reading again. I was new to school and I was aiming to get better grades, and that is when this book got me hooked. I had never read something like it. I think that before my teachers gave me superficial books, that for me were not fulfilling and interesting, but when I read my first “serious book” it changed how I saw literature. -
We Were Liars (E. Lockhart)
I read this book during the pandemic because honestly, I didn't know what else to do with all the free time that we had. I bought it in iBooks and read it from my iPad. This is when I realized that books could become my escape from reality. The pandemic was a hard time for my family and myself, so I had many things on my mind, but when I was overwhelmed I would go to my backyard and read for hours. I think I finished this book in like a week which is a record for me until now. -
Lock and Key (Sarah Dessen)
This book was with me through tough times, and I love how you can tell from the way it looks. When the pandemic was ending I had to go with my mom and sister to the US because my grandma was sick, and my mom and dad were not getting along so well. All of this was a lot for me to handle. I struggled with sleeping because I was stressed and had a lot in my mind. At night I would go outside and read this book while I watched the sunrise and this was the thing that gave me peace during this time. -
Looking For Alaska (John Green)
I read this book as a freshman, so when we got back to school I wanted to take advantage of the library we had and take out different novels. I was so obsessed with this book that I told my friends all about it because I was so excited and engaged with it. This is when they started to tease me with the fact that every time I read a new book I adapted my whole personality to it, and I realized that they were right but I loved it because that was my way of connecting with the story and characters. -
Reflection
The books in this timeline shaped many aspects of my life and taught me to love literature. My path with reading has been very inconsistent throughout the years and I think that this has a lot to do with my teachers. There have been bad ones that made me hate reading, but there have been teachers who changed my life and made me enjoy class, In the end, I had to find my love for literature independently and by doing this I was able to be a consistent reader, who enjoys the company of a good novel